

il, MILL AND TIIH riCKMANKNT SIIKLIS 



COKNER OF THE YAKD AND TEMrOKAUY ROOFS 



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Editor's Note 

 Finland and tbo New England states are competitors in the manufacture of spools, and together tbey supply 

 a large part of tlie world's markets. The material used in Finland is white birch [liettila alba) ; in New Eng- 

 land it is paper liircli ilKtiilu papjjiifera) . The trees are very similar and tla^ \\.>ciil uiiuh alike in apjiearauce and 

 grain. .Methods of man\ifacliiring differ. Henrik Cronstrom, who i^ a^-c.riaii.l wiili t\\r lar^-rst spnol factory in 

 Finland and probably tlie largest in the world, is traveling in tbr liiiird Siair, .^tndyiiig maiuilactiM-iiig " ma- 

 chinery and methods, and tlio article which follows is based on iiirnniiaiinii fnnnsli.il ll.uiiiwcain Kmoun by him 

 while in (.'hicago early in December. The establishment which he represi'nts is the Auktiebolaget Kaukas Fabrik, 

 Helsingfors, Finland. That city is about two hundred miles west of St. Petersburg. 



The habits of the white birch of northern Europe resembles those 

 of the paper birch in America. Both are quick to take possession 

 of vacant land into which areas their winged seeds are carried by 

 wind. Some of the largest birch forests of Maine and the adjoin- 

 ing regions occupy ground laid bare by fires years ago. The white 

 birch of Finland is cut chiefly from stands which have taken 

 possession of abandoned agricultural land. The logs which go 

 to spool factories in Finland average a little smaller than those 

 which reach to factories in Maine. The Finland birch ranges 

 from diameters of four inches up to si.xteen, the average being 

 about ten. 



Most of the large forests of Finland are within reach of naviga- 

 ble water in summer. In winter the severe climate closes all 

 navigation. The timber is cut in winter there, as it is in this 

 country, and is hauled to landing places where it can be loaded 

 on boats the following spring. 



The logs are cut into lengths approximately six and a half 

 feet long. They are peeled as they are cut, but the peelers leave 

 narrow rings of bark on the logs, about an inch from each end. 

 It has been found that this prevents checking. The small checks 



may appear in the ends of the logs and extend back until they 

 reach the band of bark, and they go no farther. Inch cuts from 

 the ends of the logs are thrown away, thus getting rid of discol- 

 ored wood and the cheeks. 



The usual proportion of red heart in white birch trees appears 

 to be less than in the trees of paper birch. It is so small that 

 no effort is made to put it to use other than as fuel, while in this 

 country the red hearts are used for brush> backs and other 

 purposes. 



The Finland spool manufacturer takes goodcare of the logs when 

 they arrive at the factory. They are carefully cobbed, and are 

 covered with temporary roofs, or they are placed under permanent 

 sheds, such as are shown in accompanying illustrations. 



The logs are air-dried from one and a half to two years. Sap 

 staining gives little or no trouble. The cutting and peeling are 

 done when the weather is very cold, and before warm weather 

 the surfaces of the logs are too dry for fungus to gain lodgement. 

 It is found, however, that if logs are not peeled the wood is soon 

 damaged by stain. 



The process of converting the log into spools differs radically in 



MANNER OF I'lLING WHITE liMiCH SPOOL LOCS 



liHtDSEVE VIEW OF .MILL, VAIU), AND HARBOR 



